This is the most forward Red Jade white I’ve had to date.
It pairs wonderfully with crispy oatmeal raisin cookies.
Dry leaf: aromas of tomato leaf, cooked tomatoes and greens, lemon, herbs, raisins, malt, brown sugar, wintergreen, black cherry. The leaf is large, dark and hearty — no crumbling thin leaf here.
Wet leaf: clearing and piercing wintergreen note grounded by an umami undertone like stewed vegetables.
Liquor aroma: wintergreen, cinnamon, straw.
Tastes: A backbone of straw with headiness of wintergreen, spiciness of cinnamon oil, fruitiness of black cherry, tartness of blood orange (like there is some raspberry kick), highly mineral, some toastiness and teasings of tropical fruits. Moves to baked bread, butter, popcorn, a light herbal licorice sweetness, malt, plants stems and banana leaf.
Brown sugar returning sweetness is not coy.
Body/mouthfeel: thick and oily moving to thin and rough then back to thick and brothy. Salivating, almost drooling. Of course cooling in the mouth and chest with that menthol/wintergreen/herbs but warming in the body like hot straw and cinnamon. I feel like a sheer white curtain was draped over my eyes, relaxed.
Awesome tea. Aromatic, flavorful and engaging. Somehow what seems like chaos in tea is reigned momentarily.
Song pairing: The Comet is Coming — Summon the Fire
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XsEgNvYiIE (headphones, loud.)
[5g, 100mL porcelain teapot, 195+ F, no rinse, great longevity for a white tea]
Flavors: Blood Orange, Bread, Brown Sugar, Butter, Cherry, Cinnamon, Herbs, Lemon, Licorice, Malt, Menthol, Mineral, Plant Stems, Popcorn, Raisins, Smooth, Straw, Tart, Thick, Toast, Tropical, Umami, Vegetables